


An equal and opposite force

by dongkey



Category: Steins;Gate
Genre: F/M, Revenge, Unofficial Sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:34:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28843191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dongkey/pseuds/dongkey
Summary: The year is 2017, in an alternate imagining of the Steins;Gate world line. Future Professor Alexis Leskinen kidnaps Mayuri for leverage over Okabe, setting in motion a chaotic set of events.After the dust settles--- there's only one thing on Okabe's mind. Revenge. And it's going to be brutal, since Okabe still knows how to build a time leap machine...
Relationships: Okabe Rintarou | Hououin Kyouma/Makise Kurisu, Okabe Rintarou | Hououin Kyouma/Shiina Mayuri
Kudos: 5





	1. Shannon of Information Paradox

1.20.2017

Divergence = 1.08342933

It was an unusually warm and sunny winter day in Westwood, California, but Okabe didn’t know this because his lab was moved underground due to construction that was happening in his old building. It was a slow day, one that consisted of him answering emails, preparing the courses he would teach for the upcoming semester, and going to meetings.

He hunched over his desk, enjoying a small 30-minute lacuna in his schedule. For those who knew him previously, it was a familiar sight. He was the same old Hououin Kyouma. The only difference was in garb---instead of a white lab coat, he donned a blue dress shirt and tie. On his workstation, he was doing what every third-year Ph.D. student spends their days doing: refreshing his email and reading articles. Simultaneously.

A new email popped up in his client. From Kurisu.

> On Fri, Jan 20, 2017 at 12:35 PM Kurisu Makise <makise@ucla.edu> wrote:
> 
> Okabe-kun!
> 
> How does dinner and a movie this evening sound?
> 
> Luv,
> 
> Kurisu
> 
> ***************************************
> 
> Dr. Kurisu Makise (Christina), Ph.D.
> 
> Professor of Theoretical Physics
> 
> University of California, Los Angeles
> 
> ***************************************

  
  


Okabe smiled. The “doctor” title wasn’t commonplace for non-medical academics. He figured it was a tribute to her late father, one Dr. Nakabachi, who had committed suicide some years before. They weren’t on the best of terms; at the time of his death it was more like they weren’t on any terms at all. She even had a restraining order on him for some time. The topic of her father wasn’t something Kurisu liked to talk about, but it came out in small ways. Yet, it was clear to Okabe that she still loved and respected him, despite his obvious jealousy of her talent, and disgraceful exit from academia. Okabe still wondered whether the man would have actually gone through and killed his own daughter to take credit for her work.

> On Fri, Jan 20, 2017 at 12:38 PM Rintaro Okabe <okabe.rintaro@ucla.edu> wrote:
> 
> **DOCTOR CHRIS-TINAAAAAA!!!!!! Hououin Kyouma does not take such invitations lightly! He will be there in the flesh!**

Okabe replied, accepting the dinner date invitation. Life in Hollywood wasn’t too different from Akihabara---the bright lights, bustle, and entertainment. Westwood was quieter and more sedated, but still the type of place that Okabe thrived in. It was cliche then, he thought, that he felt like a part of his heart was missing. A Mayuri, Daru, Ruka, and Faris shaped hole. The Future Gadget Laboratory hadn’t convened in years, but they were still bonded, bonded through time and space, by none other than Fate itself. 

There was another person who occupied his thoughts. The one who still hadn’t been born yet.

_What is the choice of Steins;Gate?_

As far as he knew, Daru and Yuki were still on schedule to have Suzuha. The normally dry Daru had been acting strange lately; more relaxed and talkative. It was a good sign. But since the Suzuha from the Steins;Gate line hadn’t come back to Akihabara in 2010, it wasn’t clear that her existence was predetermined. Worst case, she wouldn’t be born at all. Or maybe she would come out a boy!

_An unknown future._ That was the promise of Steins;Gate. For Okabe, it meant no more using convergence to his advantage---not knowing the exact date of his death was something that took a while to get used to, and the ambient anxiety that this world line would end up just like Alpha or Beta never went completely away. Kurisu and Mayuri were alive, there was no war over time machines, yet he couldn’t shake it. _Steins;Gate! Could it be too good to be true?_ His phone buzzed. Mayuri had texted him. Something about Faris and Ruka’s relationship. He felt a pang of guilt for not being up-to-date on their drama, and texted Mayuri back, asking her to catch him up on all the juicy details. It had been four years already since he moved to America, four years that passed like a blur.

Five hours later, Okabe sat across from Kurisu at dinner at their favorite Japanese place. The beef bowls were okay, Kurisu thought, but weren’t anything like Sanbo. Kurisu noticed that Okabe was checking his phone more often than usual.

“Everything ok?”

“Yeah. It’s nothing,” said Okabe, but a bead of sweat had begun to form on his forehead. This was a feeling he hadn’t had since his repeated trials in the Alpha world line. A horrible, dreadful, sinking feeling. Mayuri’s watch has stopped! Fate coming up with ever-more creative and sadistic ways to kill her. 

He looked up from his phone. Across from him in the booth was Kurisu, concern filling her face. Okabe stared into her deep grey eyes, partially obscured by her bangs.

_You haven’t changed a single bit._

She was wearing her signature outfit: tight-fitting white dress shirt, red tie, and coat that looked like it was falling off her shoulders but really wasn’t. It was there to emphasize her pointy shoulders and stiff breasts, a look that only she could pull off...

“Hey. What’s wrong?” Kurisu asked gently, pulling Okabe out of his stupor.

“Oh. It’s probably nothing. Mayuri hasn’t responded to me or Daru in a while. Apparently, she didn’t come in to work today, and Faris is worried. This isn’t like her,” said Okabe. “But it’s probably nothing.”

Okabe’s face revealed a lot more than his words. His eyes were wide. Fists clenched. Anguish read all across him. 

_Kurisu is right in front of me. This isn’t a dream. She’s so naïve... she has no idea what she’d do for me and Mayuri, if she knew what was at stake... that’s why I can’t tell her this time. I can’t tell her_ _about the sacrifice she made for the Beta world line._

A day later, Okabe lay next to Kurisu on the floor of their shared apartment, talking on the phone, one hand tightly clasped in hers. Faris and Ruka couldn’t find Mayuri at her house and had been searching for hours. Local police had even gotten involved. It was like she had vanished from this world altogether. _Vanished from thin air... this doesn't sound like Alpha convergence. Did she somehow board a time machine? An infinitude of possibilities._

Okabe got up. “Kurisu... I need to go to Japan. I need to be there for everyone. Maybe I can help find her. I’ll be back soon.”

“You know I’m coming with you, right? Dummy.”

Okabe shook his head. “No. Don’t come with me.”

“What do you mean?” Kurisu was hurt. “Mayuri’s also my friend. I know, we aren’t that close in this world line, but I care about her.”

“You shouldn’t come. I don’t want you to come. Please trust me,” Okabe said, avoiding eye contact. Lying here would be crueler than any truth.

“Okabe!” Kurisu’s eyes began to water. “Can you tell me why you don’t want me there? Please?”

Okabe fell silent for what felt like a long time. “I’ll call you. Also...” He paused again. “I love you. Dearly. More than anything.”


	2. Newcomb’s Basilisk Mythos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The year is 2017, in an alternate imagining of the Steins;Gate world line. Future Professor Alexis Leskinen kidnaps Mayuri for leverage over Okabe, setting in motion a chaotic set of events.
> 
> After the dust settles--- there's only one thing on Okabe's mind. Revenge. And it's going to be brutal, since Okabe still knows how to build a time leap machine...

1.21.2017

Okabe sat in the terminal, phone opened to his texts with Kurisu, hesitant to reach out first, replaying in his head how he had used the phrase “I love you” to manipulate her into staying. It didn’t sit well with him, but it felt too soon to apologize. He would have to deal with that later, though, as something akin to an electric field began to ring in Okabe's ears.

The first D-Mail appeared like a violent flash of energy. His phone suddenly felt hot, stayed that way for a second, then cooled down. A new email appeared in his inbox. Okabe knew immediately from the strange subject and mailing address that it was from the future, but it wasn't like any D-Mail he'd known. It was sent directly to his unencrypted email---meaning it was a different device than Okabe and Daru had conceived once upon a world line.

> On Sun, Nov 2, 2040 at 10:55 AM Alexis Leskinen <leskinen@protonmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Okabe Rinatarou,
> 
> I have had a brilliant idea that I wanted to share with you. Unfortunately, your friend was what a civilized person might call collateral damage. If you wish her safe return, please go to Maho at Viktor Chondria University and tell her that you request a memory snapshot. Tell her that Leskinen asked for her. Steal that data and put it on a memory stick. Open the safety deposit box at Sincona Trading Ag in Switzerland with code 581935913649 and place the memory stick inside.
> 
> One other thing, Rintarou: if you for some reason so much as lay a finger on my past self, then the world line will change. If that happens, the girl is gone. Her location in time and space is in my memory. Mine only! If the world line changes, then her coordinates will be lost forever.
> 
> You are a clever little monkey. Putting a lock on the flash drive so it won't open until November 3, 2040. So be it. The ball is in your court. I will have an associate check the box tomorrow. If you have what I need, then the girl will be returned to Japan on February 20, 2017. If what is in the box are not your memories... then she dies.
> 
> Prof Leskinen

Leskinen... wasn’t that Kurisu’s old advisor? And Maho, of course! Kurisu had mentioned her diminutive colleague many times but Okabe had only met her once. At once a sharp pain, like a hit in the head, almost knocked Okabe to the ground.

Like the feeling of waking up in the morning, memories returned to him. A feeling that hadn’t stricken him in years.

_This feeling, no, it can’t be, Reading Stiener!_

Slowly, memories of the Beta attractor field passes through his mind. Rebuilding the time leap machine with Maho... Foiling Leskinen’s plans... Amadeus... Sending the message to his past self... Finding and bringing Suzuha and Mayuri back from limbo... It was a series of flashes, hints, and glimmers of a parallel Okabe. 

Beta attractor Leskinen was a frightening opponent, but Okabe knew little of his Steins;Gate counterpart. Apparently, he had lost funding after the Amadeus project failed, and fell off the map soon after. Kurisu had spoke highly of Leskinen and had expressed on multiple occasions a worry for her old mentor. According to her, he had completely disappeared, even from his family and friends.

This safety deposit box idea had Okabe stumped. It seemed like an unwinnable problem. If he did follow the instructions, then Leskinen could “cheat” and check the box for the data much earlier--- say, in 2020. If the data wasn’t there, he would know to just kill Mayuri when the time comes. But if Mayuri was not returned in February, then Okabe would just destroy the box: mutually assured destruction. So Leskinen can’t double cross Okabe, or even kill Mayuri: he gains nothing. 

_Newcomb’s paradox. Basically a more confusing statement of the original Grandfather Paradox. Diabolical._

Okabe has no outs either. Suppose in February Mayuri is returned, then Okabe destroys the safety deposit box. This causes a paradox, because future Leskinen would then just kill Mayuri. So Okabe can’t pull off a double cross without causing a paradox or losing Mayuri. 

_He can’t kill Mayuri, and I have to leave him the data. That’s his wager. Gah, this is more than confusing._

The last paragraph intrigued Okabe. Apparently he had decided to lock the data, preventing Leskinen from “cheating” by checking the box early. _I’m not the only one with leverage in this game._ A sliver, a crack, a longshot way to win this rigged game. _Could it be... my trump card... future me?_

The next D-Mail came via traditional means. His phone buzzed with a new text message.

> Okabe. There is a way to save Mayuri and stop Leskinen. Make sure he keeps Mayuri alive long enough for us to retrieve her. Do that by putting a lock on the safety deposit box, a day past when he sends you his D-Mail. This should buy us enough time, and he probably won’t suspect anything.
> 
> Your second task is critical. We wouldn’t know the whereabouts of Leskinen without your help. Place a tracking device in his body. In our time, he’s a ghost. We’d have no chance of finding him w/o you. El... Psy... Congroo...

Okabe rubbed his temples. _Here we go again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm just as confused as you are lol

**Author's Note:**

> hopefully i'll be able to complete this one.


End file.
